Manchester City revelled in the sort of victory that may see a renewed confidence spill over into the Premier League. In the closing moment the substitute Vladimir Weiss was even able to add a third goal from Craig Bellamy's pass. The victors capered happily into the semi-finals of the Carling Cup and an encounter with Manchester United. Arsenal had never pinned their hopes on reaching that stage of the tournament but must have been downcast by the margin of the defeat.

It would be absurd to pretend that this was a further trauma for Arsène Wenger to follow the 3-0 defeat by Chelsea at the Emirates. His selection was the usual makeshift assortment of youths and the few marginal figures he normally employs in this competition. In contrast to other sides confronted by a precocious Arsenal, City, however, were unrelenting in making their experience and talent tell.

Wenger's team had no fun whatsoever at their expense. Following seven successive draws in the Premier League, City struck form that would have shaken off most adversaries. The encounter was, in practice, settled by the goal with which the irresistible Shaun Wright-Phillips sent his side into a 2-0 lead after 69 minutes. There was a swagger to the winger as he all but ignored Armand Traoré while slipping past him to the edge of the area and firing a shot that flew across Lukasz Fabianski and high into the top corner.

No one can really pretend that even this sorry outcome is another element in a syndrome of anti-climax at Arsenal. The side chosen had only two men, Traoré and Alex Song, who had started against Chelsea. A loss rankles all the same. "I am free to shake hands with whom I want," said Wenger when accused by Mark Hughes of being unsportsmanlike at the end.

The emphasis put on the occasion by City's manager had its risks. A disappointment for his best line-up would have been no preparation at all for confronting Chelsea at this ground in the league on Saturday. As it is, there should be a reward in replenished self-belief now. City will believe that their wait for a league victory may be approaching its end.

Whatever else is said about the side, no one could have depicted them last night as well-heeled footballers whose main ambition is to keep on collecting their wages. The home crowd certainly did not confine itself to a token interest. If City lacked anything in the first half it was the precision needed to lay on a really inviting chance.

Wright-Phillips was the most ebullient performer and he earned the corner from which the former Arsenal attacker Emmanuel Adebayor headed much too close to Fabianski. With 19 minutes gone, the winger forced his way clear of a dilatory Mikaël Silvestre to set up Bellamy but the finish was wide and hapless.

Traoré and Craig Eastmond had both been cautioned for fouls on the winger before the interval. Arsenal had some sprightly moments in attack but the sustained liveliness was City's. With so much yet to be achieved by the club, there was an appetite even for a comparatively modest tournament.

Wright-Phillips embodied that best but there was hunger in many of the players' efforts. The glaring problem was the lack of presence in the goalmouth, even if Adebayor is an extremely tall man. According to Hughes, injury disrupted his season just when he was scoring freely. Whether he has merely to regain full form or was ill at ease against his old club, he was not having sufficient impact at that stage.

The occasion itself lacked little. The attendance and atmosphere confirmed that supporters can be in earnest about the Carling Cup. In the previous round, Arsenal had beaten Liverpool in an enjoyable and absorbing encounter. This tournament sometimes seems to strike a balance between entertainment and competitiveness that is difficult to find elsewhere.

Carlos Tevez was fully in earnest when putting City ahead five minutes after the interval. Tomas Rosicky, under pressure from Bellamy and the Argentinian, weakly surrendered possession on the Arsenal left and Tevez broke into the area, avoided Song and struck a drive across the goalkeeper and high into the net.

The appetite of an excited crowd was getting keener by the moment, even if the referee, Chris Foy, refused to sate it and showed a yellow card to Silvestre instead of dismissing him for a foul on Adebayor. By the close the City fans would still have departed with the feeling that, for once, their every wish had been granted.